Apparatus for making oxygen.



C. RID'LEY.

APPARATUS FOR MAKING OXYGEN.

APPLICATION PILED JULY 20. 1909 Patented JanA, 1910.

WI f/VESJ'iS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

I CHARLES RIDLEY, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FO R MAKING OXYGEN.

Application filed July 20, 1909. Serial No. 508,580.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES Rmnniga subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at London, England, have invented new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Making Oxygen, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to im rovements in apparatus for extracting or o taining gases from solids, by cyclic operations in which the solid material is heated in one part of the operation and is recharged in another art.

p Oxygen may be extracted from lead oxid or from permanganate of soda, from the earthy metal oxids and the like, or gas may be extracted from any substance capable of yielding gas under the influence of a blast of steam or hot, air at suitable temperatures and pressures. According to my invention the material isfed into a chamber heatedto a temperature suitable for such material toyield its gases upon coming into contact with a blast of steam, it is then conducted into and from the said chamber by means of suitable channels, tubes or ducts by means of Archimedean screws and the like.

To prevent. loss of gases by leakage from the inlet or the outlet, the feed is so arranged that there is always a quantity of the gas producing material left on the inlet and outlet ducts or valves. I extract or recover the oxygen or other gases from the chamber by means of an exhaust fan or pump.

After the material is conducted from the chamber by the Archimedean screw or otherwise, it passes into the air, or into a chamber provided to receive it, and absorbs oxygen again, and is then fed back into the chamber by anysnitable mechanical means, so that the absorption of the gas and its delivery are both simultaneous. and continuous. And in order that my invention may be better understood I will now'describe a preferred embodiment thereof with the aid of the accompanying diagrammatic drawing which depicts an apparatus constructed according to my present invention for the continuous production and delivery of oxygen from permanganate of soda or the like.

The gas producing chamber or retort a may be suitably mounted in brick-work or may be otherwise supported and may be provided with suitable means for heating the same, so that the material therein may be I heated to the temperature suitable for it to yield the gases upon contactwith a blast of steam. Theretort 1s provided witha conical or funnel shaped bottom 6 which is pierced for the reception of a convenient number of inlet pipes 0. These inlet pipes are so formed and dlsposed that they are capable of forcing ets of steam into the retort.., "'The pipe conducting to these inlet pipes maybe provided Wlfhsuitable regulating, reducing brother vaves.

Specification of Letters Iatent. I 'P atented J 4 1910 The lower portion of the retort bottom 6 i is furnished with an outlet duct d. through WhlCll the treated material falls (or is forced as hereinafter demonstrated) into the receiving chamber e beneath.

The receiving chamber is preferably con structed with a wide open mouth, such mouth permltting the inspection of the material as it emerges from the retort, and also serves for feeding fresh material into the apparatus. The mouth of the receiving chamber being open to the atmosphere, the material as it falls therein from the retort is thus brought into direct contact with the atmosphere from whence it absorbs oxygen.

The interior of he receiving chamber is furnished with suitable rolls f rotating in the direction shown by the arrows. The. in

terior of the receiving chamber is alsofurnished with fixed or pivoted guide plates 9 for guiding the material to the operative surfaces of the rolls. The receiving chamber is provided with an outlet duct h which duct may be furnished at its lower extremity with a doori for discharging waste or spent material as required. The said outlet duct h communicates with a channel or duct provided internally with an Archimedean screw 1- mounted upon a suitably journaled shaft 'm. The said duct communicates with an elevating duct 71. provided with elevating Archimedean screw 0 mounted upon a suitably j-ournaled shaft p. The elevating duct n communicates with a gravity duct g which opens into the dome 1' attached to the retort a .by the inlet duct 8. The lower portion of the retort dome may be conical or funnel shaped. w

The retort is furnished with a central shaft 6 which shaft may be axially journaled also be provided with a convenient number v portion of the retort a.

outlet duct d.

'fore it enters or renters the retort.

of agitating or mixin blades w. The lower extremity .of the sha t t may be supported and journaled upon a bearing beam at fixed uponand across the mouth of the receiving chamber e, or the shaft may be journaled in or upon a brid e support fixed within the suitable number of gas discharge pipes y are provided upon the upper I also provide the retort dome r with an air discharge pipe 7 for extracting the air from the material be- The ducts d and s are provided with slightly tapering Walls so that the material passing therethrough will be slightly packed therein, whereby leakage of gas from the retort a is prevented. The retort may also be provided with-a suitable combined vacuum and pressure gage z in order that the required pressure within the retort may be maintained, the pressure being preferably slightly in excess of that of the atmosphere.

The Archimedean screw shafts are rotated through the medium of a common shaft or may be independently driven so that their speed may respectively be regulated. And the screws may be of suitable pitch for performing their respective duties.

The cycle of operations is as follows :The gas producing material is'fed in through the receiving chamber e, passes between the rolls f down through the outlet .duct it into the traversing duct k, thence upwardly through the elevating ductn, falling through the gravity duct 51 into the retort dome 1", through the inlet duct 5 into the retort a in which it is subjected to the treatment for extracting the gas. After treatment the material passes out of the retort through the outlet duct d into the receiving chamber 6 where it becomes rechar ed with oxygen, thence again through the ro ls and through the various ducts returning to the retort forre-treatment, the cycle being continuous, fresh material being added and spent material being withdrawn without interfering with the-continuousrecovery of gases.

I claim.

1. An apparatus of the class described, comprising an open mouthed receiving chamber, a retort located above the same,

means for feeding the material from the receiving chamber .to the top of the retort, means for. sealing both ends of the retort by top of the retort, conveying means in said' pipes for conveying the material, means for sealing the inlet and outlet ends of the retort by the accumulation of the material, agitating means in said retort, means for introducing steam into the retort, and means for withdrawing the gases therefrom.

3. An apparatus of the class described, comprising an open mouthed receiving chamber, rollers therein through which the material is passed in the presence of atmospheric air, a retort located above the receiving chamber and having its open end situated so as to deliver the materlal passing therethrough into the receiving chamber, a receiving dome at the upper end of said retort, tubes connecting said dome with the bottom of the receiving chamber, conveying means for conveying the material through the tubes into said dome, said retort having its inlet end communicating with said dome, a shaft passing through the dome and retort and having a screw conveyer for feeding the material from the dome into the retort and causing said material to seal the top of the retort, a second screw conveyer on said shaft at the outlet end of the retort for discharging the material from the retort, said screw conveyer also causing the material to seal 100 name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES RIDLEY.

Witnesses:

CHARLES SEPTIMUS BnR'rHoN, WILLIAM HYSLOP. 

